The 2013 political showdown for mayor of San Diego reached a crescendo Nov. 19, setting up a runoff election sometime in February between District 2 City Councilman Kevin Faulconer (R) and District 8 City Councilman David Alvarez (D).

According to semi-official results from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters Office — with 100 percent of the precincts counted — Faulconer was the runaway leader, collecting 44 percent of the ballots (89,043 votes), followed by Alvarez with 26 percent (52,283 votes).

Democrat Nathan Fletcher, however, was barely trailing Alvarez with 24 percent (49,645 votes). However, on Nov. 20, Fletcher conceded and lent his endorsement to Alvarez in the runoff election, even though there are still 34,500 mail-in and provisional ballots yet to be counted, according to city spokesman Juan Alvarez.

Former City Attorney Mike Aguirre did not fare well in his bid for mayor, collecting a little more than 4 percent of the vote (9,801 votes)

The mail-in and provisional ballots are expected to be counted next week and could be certified as early as the end of next week, according to Alvarez.

Voter turnout for the election was estimated between 30-35 percent.

Thanking his major opponents Fletcher, Aguirre and Alvarez for “sacrificing their time to make San Diego better,” Faulconer said he began his campaign with a simple promise, “That together, we will restore trust and integrity to City Hall.”Now more than ever, San Diegans need a leader with a vision for this city — and the experience to make it happen; a leader San Diegans can trust — trust to lead with principles not partisanship; trust to put your city first,” Faulconer said on election night. “We took that message to the voters and guess what? You all agree.”

Meanwhile, coming from single-digit support when the race kicked off to ending up with more than 25 percent of the vote on Nov. 19, Alvarez gained traction every day with a positive, grassroots campaign that focused on describing his vision for a San Diego for everyone and every neighborhood.

“We started this campaign as an underdog, but we stuck to our values and talked about the issues that our neighbors, co-workers, friends and family care about — getting to the finish line with an amazing amount of momentum,” Alvarez said.

Faulconer said the runoff election for mayor early next year will present a clear choice.

“Do we let our city fall back into the grip of the same government special interests who drove us to the brink of bankruptcy and took money away from our streets, parks, libraries and police officers?” he asked. “Or do we choose a new path that finally lifts these so instead of imagining a brighter future, we actually live it?”

On Fletcher’s endorsement of him, Alvarez emphasized his and Fletcher’s shared vision for the future of the city.

“I want to thank Nathan for his support,” Alvarez said. “He has been and continues to be someone who has put community service above himself. We share a vision for the future of San Diego, where we invest in our neighborhoods, protect our environment and strengthen the middle class. I look forward to broadening the coalition of San Diegans who share that vision too.”

Fletcher, a Qualcomm executive, reportedly will return to private life and give up politics.

“[Alvarez] will make a great mayor,” he said when he conceded at Ellen Browning Scripps park in La Jolla. “I leave today with my head held high about the campaign we ran … I wanted to be the mayor and I really wanted to be the mayor that really led and advanced our city. We came up a little bit short.”

For the latest in election numbers, visit www.sdcounty.ca.gov/ voters /results/election.xml.